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PortsmouthDomestic Competitions: Relegated from the Premier League in 2010/11, Relegated from the Championship in 2012/13, Promoted as League 1 Champions in 2013/14, Relegated from the Championship in 2015/16, Promoted from League 1 in 2016/17, Relegated from the Championship in 2020/21, Johnstone's Paint Trophy Runners up on 2 occasions Europe: N/APast Managers: Avram Grant, Lee Clark, Simon Davey, Glenn Roeder, Alan SmithCurrent Manager: Glen JohnsonNotable ex-Players: Nikola Vujadinovic, Ross Jenkins, Dave Nugent, John UtakaNotes: Have gone into administration on 3 occasions

BoltonDomestic Competitions: Relegated from the Premier League in 2013/14, Promoted from the Championship in 2014/15, Relegated from the Premier League in 2017/18, Promoted from the Championship in 2018/19, Relegated from the Premier League in 2020/21, Promoted from the Championship in 2021/22, Relegated from the Premier League in 2022/23, FA Cup Runners up on 1 occasion, League Cup runners up on 1 occasion Europe: N/APast Managers: Owen Coyle, Alan Curbishley, Simon Davey, Brian Laws, Michael ZewlakovCurrent Manager: Lee SinnottNotable ex-Players: Gary Cahill, Kevin Davies, Gianmarco ZigoniNotes: Have gone into administration on 1 occasion

BirminghamDomestic Competitions: Relegated from the Premier League in 2009/10, Promoted from the Championship in 2010/11, Relegated from the Premier League in 2020/21, Promoted from the Championship in 2022/23, Relegated from the Premier League in 2023/24, FA Cup Runners up in 2016/17 Europe: N/APast Managers: Alex McCleish, Dave Jones, Landon Donavon, Ryan NelsenCurrent Manager: Michael GrayNotable ex-Players: Scott Dann, Frank Lampard, Christian Benitez, Sebastian LarssonNotes: Have gone into administration on 2 occasions

FulhamDomestic Competitions: Relegated from the Premier League in 2009/10, Promoted from the Championship in 2011/12, Relegated from the Premier League in 2012/13, Promoted from the Championship in 2013/14, Relegated from the Premier League in 2015/16, Promoted from the Championship in 2016/17, Relegated from the Premier League in 2018/19, Promoted from the Championship in 2019/20, Relegated from the Premier League in 2023/24, FA Cup Winners in 2011/12Europe: First Knockout round of the Europa League in 2012Past Managers: Roy Hodgson, Chris Coleman, Ronny Johnsen, Preki, Oguchi OnyewuCurrent Manager: Wes BrownNotable ex-Players: Nicky Shorey, Aaron Hughes, Andy Johnson, Markus RosenborgNotes:

NewcastleDomestic Competitions: Promoted from the Championship in 2009/10, Relegated from the Premier League in 2011/12, Promoted from the Championship in 2015/16, Relegated from the Premier League in 2016/17, Promoted from the Championship in 2017/18, Relegated from the Premier League in 2018/19, Promoted from the Championship in 2020/21, Relegated from the Premier League in 2021/22, Promoted from the Championship in 2022/23, Relegated from the Premier League in 2023/24Europe: N/APast Managers: Chris HughtonCurrent Manager: Scott ParkerNotable ex-Players: Steven Taylor, Fabricio Collicinni, Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique, Joey BartonNotes: Have gone into administration on 1 occasion

Hull CityDomestic Competitions: Relegated from the Premier League in 2014/15, Promoted from the Championship in 2015/16, Relegated from the Premier League in 2018/19, Promoted from the Championship in 2019/20, Europe: Champions League best place playoff on 1 occasion, Europa League winners on 1 occasionPast Managers: Phil Brown, Current Manager: Ricardo Clark Notable ex-Players: Boaz Myhill, Alex Pearce, Steven N'Zonzi, Nedum OnouhoaNotes: Raymond van Leeuwen (tycoon) took over in 2020

So far I've enjoyed success in taking sides such as Bradford PA, Casa Pia and East Fife from relegation battles and the bottom of their league, to avoiding relegation and even promotion. I hope to do this at Fana as well, it wont be easy however, as with just 12 games left in the current season things are not looking good for them...

Overall I achieved 25 points out of a possible 36, which is pretty decent for a team that were relegation fodder when I took over. A more in-depth look at my first few months at the club will appear later.

thanks AK, i'm hoping we can at least challenge for the title next year. And yeah I can see why this league could be a pain Shanghai, it's just so open due to number of teams/games which could be quite frustrating if you're on a bad run of form.

Wow Paul, this is impressive. Something I attempted on FM10 or 11, I only managed to get to C, and spent 4 seasons unemployed and could get no job. Loving your story though and will keep looking back now. Good Luck with Fana and finding a G job.

So after resigning in June from East Fife I went out looking for a job, the Norwegian third tier wasn't my first choice, but it gave me a new challenge and the chance to jump straight back into management due to Norway's unconventional season schedule, compared to the majority of other European leagues. When I took over Fana were in a relegation battle, after bringing a lot of players in the team ultimately finished in 7th place, with our last 10 games of the season being title challenging form. All of my transfers in and out were freebies aside from a few players who I paid a several thousand for at the start of my reign. The finances at the club aren't looking to good to be honest, since 2021 the club seems to have been on a downward spiral and it seems only inevitable that without a promotion or good cup run, the club will be in the red by the end of next season.

They key man was a player already at the club prior to my arrival, Orjan Johansen finished as the top scorer at the club with 12 goals in 25 league games. Bendik Andersen was another decent striker, he ended up with 7 goals in 14 games. Martin Gregersen was a good Danish defender I brought into the club. Knut Kanck was signed late in and only played 5 games but he's a pretty good player and will most likely feature heavily next season. Poul Erik Andersen was another Danish defender that I signed who was good in the few appearances he got the chance to play in. Magne Bakken was a left back who I signed that's pretty decent, has a very good passing ratio for a left back as well. Geir Aaland was signed from Brann and did pretty well in the games he played in once I'd signed him. Tony Sinclair is an English midfielder I signed on a freebie, he's looking like he will improve and be better next season.

Wow Paul, this is impressive. Something I attempted on FM10 or 11, I only managed to get to C, and spent 4 seasons unemployed and could get no job. Loving your story though and will keep looking back now. Good Luck with Fana and finding a G job.

thanks LLR, yeah canvey!! originally started the challenge in CSE for FM10 I think, everyone seemed to give up or get no job offers after B or C, myself included!

The Premier League has frustrating rules on max 11 non-homegrown players, which affects all young players and Norwegians that were either generated late or moved abroad early, not just foreigners, plus work permits mean there's little point chasing players from outside Europe, so not much chance to get good Latin American or African talent. I've been there rather a lot on FM10 and 11 at while obviously I love it, it is always frustrating for squad-building for those reasons.

Never managed in that division, but looking it up on FM11 they have the same rules as the Premier Division, which includes needing 2 players homegrown at the club in a match squad. Might be different (as FM10 Sweden didn't have squad rules but FM11 Sweden does) but likely to be the same.

thanks Shanghai, I'd love to get promoted but the general competitiveness of the league and the fact only one team goes up makes me less optimistic! 5 games more and still doing decently, position slightly flatters us due to games in hand for the teams around us.

Yeah I'm pleased to be keeping up with the pace early on, although a bad of run 3 or 4 games and that could be it for promotion, I suppose it's a bit easier than managing in the Portuguse 2nd Division as you can win your league and still not go up.

The only one team moving up can be difficult. A little slip up and that's the season. Hopefully, the final five matches go well for you though!

Yeah that's true, I'm hoping that they go well for me to!

Originally Posted by SRL88

Its SRL .

Oh so it is, I've always read it as 'S-L-R'

Things are still going pretty swimmingly with just 11 games to go now - Bryne, Floy and Lillehammer could all capitalise on us if we slip up slightly. I'm hoping our goal difference will come into play and help us later in the season.

I think some of the more fana-tical fans will be slightly disappointed, 7 points from a possible 12 has left us trailing to Floy by 5 points with just 6 games left, with Bryne only behind us on goal difference...

Tough run at the end of the season. But next year with a few choice signings should see you a strong competitor for the title. I had a striker named Fosu Boateng on my Frigg team that destroyed that league if it helps

In what seems like a bit of a bottle job, we finished 4th after looking like title winning contenders for most of the first half of the season which was incredibly disappointed. This is probably best highlighted by the previous positions screenshot. I brought in quite a few players on freebies which may have disrupted squad harmony but ultimately the squad did need improving, for the most part those transfers did do that. The finances at the club are not looking too great but that should even itself out at some point into next season. The squad is good enough to win the league but lacked consistency, a key moment was when at the time top scorer Ronni Christensen was injured for 10 months mid-season, which lead to a bit of a dry patch in terms of goals for the club. If I do stay I will bring in a few more players as the squad will need to be improved slightly.

Aside from having an interesting hairstyle, our goalkeeper Damir Brannstrom is not the best considering we want to be going for the title, although my scouts haven't found anyone better than him which is quite frustrating. Jostein Jensen is first choice right back and was pretty decent there. His counter part was the Pakistani Zahid Mehmood who was also quite decent. Our first choice central defensive partnership was the two Danish defenders, Martin Gregersen and Poul Erik Andersen. A key player once signed was Boyan Dimov, a Bulgarian midfielder who looks to be one of our better players now. Ole Jakob Pettersen was our Norwegian central midfielder who did well and ended up with 7 assists. Peter Gutierrez had a poor season on the right side of midfield. Bosnian midfielder/striker Sead Vasic was signed this season and impressed in a few appearances, he'll be important next season if I stay on as manager. Vegard Mundal was decent on the left of midfield ending up with 10 assists. Ronni Christensen did well until picking up a horrific injury which made sure he didn't play again for the season. Orjan Johansen ended up as top scorer with 13 goals.

Whilst the club do seem a bit annoyed after I have declared interest in yet another job, most clubs would've sacked me by now, so I might as well take advantage of them being so lenient whilst deciding whether to see out the year left on my contract, or take a G job if one becomes available.

Thanks to the media I was left in a pretty awkward situation with lots of explaining to do, especially when the Grays chairman over-looked me and appointed someone else. After being slightly humbled it looks like I'll be staying at Fana for another year, might have to go the extra mile for a win now to make it up to the board and the fans

After my awkward moment with the board and my cheeky application to be Ghana manager was rejected, I decided to commit myself to Fana and see out the year on my contract. The odds have come in and they're not great for us, although a cheeky tenner on us winning the league could see some very happy Fana-tics come the end of the season!

I always find it funny that a club may ask for you to apologize for looking at other job opportunities. But then again, I come from the generation that believes a job's wages pay for the work done, not for loyalty. At least you're save for now!

Hopefully Valarenga 2 will fall somewhat as their roster changes throughotu the year as their top squad brings in players and moves others out. A good start!

Yeah I certainly hope that happens!

Originally Posted by zsefv

in the 2016/17 UCL and EL, winners are Man City? Mistake?

yeah, the Europa League winners should be Hull City.

Originally Posted by SRL88

Definitely not worth complaining about so far. Going well .

only thing I can complain about is other teams doing as well as I am!

Originally Posted by deltablue

Very nervous times. Have you played both sides you're level with?

I've drawn 1-1 with Randaberg, still have a home game against them and both home and away against Valarenga 2. It seems likely it will come down to who does the best in the games against each other between the 3 of us.

A fantastic 3-0 victory at home against Randaberg seemed to set off a chain reaction of positivity and mental strength all over the club, especially to our wide midfielder Gutierrez who has gone on to score 5 goals in as many games.

Contrasting to our positive reaction to the Randaberg game, losing to us seemed to have an adverse effect over at Randaberg, and subsequently their good form and confidence well and truly went out the window, picking up 7 points from a possible 15. They're still only a point behind us with 6 games remaining though so it is well and truly squeaky bum time. Valerenga 2 are still in with a shot, currently 5 points behind but they have a game in hand with relegation battling Klepp which they should win. It should be a three horse race and I am hoping we can continue our good form in our last 6 games.

The fixtures look like this for the three of us -

Randaberg: Nest-Sotra (away), Skjetten (home), Stryn (home), Mandalskam (away), Klepp (away), Kopervik (home) - Randaberg at least on paper have a relatively easy run in, their only real test will be a tricky away match with Mandalskam who I think (and hope) will at least get a point out of that game. Nest-Sotra, Skjetten and Klepp are all very winnable games, with Stryn, and Kopervik especially, being relatively testing home games, but ultimately are both winnable as well for a team challenging for the title.

Valerenga 2: Klepp (home), Stryn (away), Mandalskam (home), Lillehammer (away), Fyllingen (home), Kopervik (away), Fana (away) - With four away games in their last 6 games as opposed to Randaberg's 3/3, Valerenga's 2nd side will have a more difficult run in than our other rivals. They should dispatch of Klepp at home without any real problem. Fyllingen is another home game I fully expect them to get 3 points in. Mandalskam will be difficult and I am hoping like with their game against Randaberg that Mandalskam will make sure they drop some points here. Lillehammer, Kopervik and Stryn are by no means easy places to go and I fully expect Valerenga 2 to drop points in at least one of these games. Then of course there is the potentially very dramatic final game of the season...

Fana Idrettslag: Skjetten (away), Klepp (home), Mandalskam (home), Kopervik (away), Stryn (away), Valerenga 2 (home) - We have a run in of 3/3 in terms of home/away so that's the same as Randaberg. Skjetten away and Klepp at home are both very winnable games and I will be disappointed if we drop points in either game. Mandalskam, a side I am hoping can knock some points out of my 2 rivals, could easily do the same to me and a draw against them would be a decent result, but at home I obviously expect better, we lost 1-0 to them away so hopefully a loss doesn't happen again. Kopervik and Stryn are two relatively simple away games but we could probably drop points in at least one of those games. Then there's the massive final game of the season that could potentially decide everything. We are at home against Valerenga 2 which gives us a slight advantage, but it is still a massive game and after the bottle job of last season I am worried my players will bottle it if it comes down to this game.

Overall it is in our hands now with the 6 games left and I believe my team are the clear favourites, a point/2 points clear as well as a far superior goal difference, but obviously if we lose that final game against Valerenga 2 it could all be curtains for our title campaign. A massive run in coming up for all 3 of the teams, I am hoping that my side isn't the one to lose out this year as this will definitely be my final season at Fana, would be nice to leave Norway with a bit of a bang!

So, after winning the league, bringing glory to Fana and achieving promotion it is time to see how this was actually achieved. 6 players were brought in on free transfers throughout the season, some were better than others. Morten Berg was a very important part of our team and being Norwegian will significantly help Fana next season when new squad regulations come into play. Peter Gutierrez was a major part of our final run, the American midfielder ended up with 9 goals and 2 assists which came at the business period of the season. Soren Lovenkrands continued to be part of our defence, the Danish player had a relatively good year. His compatriot Kian Lauridsen was another key part of our defence. Another Danish player that was a relatively important part of our team was Thomas Gregersen. Our Swedish striker Peter Svensson finished up with 11 goals and 2 assists which was a good total that I was pleased with. Bosnian Sead Vasic was another key part of our attack, ending the season with 8 goals and 6 assists. Norwegian striker Orjan Johansen who has been at the club since I first arrived, continued his consistent seasons of scoring double figures, as he scored 11 goals and gained 6 assists.
At the end of the season I announced my resignation from Fana, due to the unorthodox Norwegian season time/structure I have resigned in October which is only a few months into regular European seasons. This should mean that I will be able to find a few jobs before the end of the current season, hopefully even before the new year although I don't want to get my hopes up! G seems to be a relatively okay letter in terms of clubs, there's quite a few English jobs I could go for if they become available, having already been linked with Gateshead, Grays and Grimsby. I'm not sure where I will end up, but hopefully I'll end up at somewhere decent soon.